Athens hoping for €6bn boost from privatisations in next 18 months

Greece is looking to raise up to €6bn from the sale of ports, airports and utilities by the end of next year, according to Lila Tsitsogiannopoulou, the chairwoman of the country’s privatisation agency the HRADF. She expects some €2bn to be raised this year from the privatisation or part-privatisation of the abandoned Airport (Hellinikon), TRAINOSE, Thessaloniki Port Authority, Afandou in Rhodes, the Hellenic Gas Transmission System Operator (DESFA), and the sale of 10 major regional ports and marinas. In 2014, a consortium of Abu Dhabi and Chinese investors backed by the Fosun conglomerate and fronted up by Greece’s Lamda Development agreed to pay $1.03bn to lease the old Hellenikon airport and the surrounding area where it plans to develop a two-million m² coastal resort. Construction is expected to begin this year. Tsitsogiannopoulou expects a further €3.5bn to be raised in 2018 from the sale of shares in some of the country’s state-owned energy companies and the OTE telecommunications provider, a 30% stake in Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport, and several other public-sector assets. Athens raised €500m euros from asset sales last year, missing its bailout target by about €2bn, mainly due to delays in completing the lease of 14 airports to a consortium led by Germany’s Fraport.